1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bolt-equipped connector which allows connectors for use in wire harnesses or the like to be mated with and demated from each other by means of bolts.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventionally, male connectors and female connectors have been widely used in, for example, wire harnesses to be used for electrical wiring in automobiles and the like. When extremely large numbers of connecting terminals are used, the mating and demating between these male connector and female connector could hardly be attained only by manual force. Therefore, the mating and demating connectors is often carried out by a bolt being screwed in and out.
For example, as shown in FIG. 1, which is a sectional view of a prior art example, a connector body 1 of a male connector has a bolt holder 2 provided protrudingly and integrally. Into this bolt holder 2, a bolt 3 having a head 3a is rotatably inserted. A ring 4 is fitted to the bolt 3 inserted in the bolt holder 2, so that the bolt 3 is restricted in its axial movement relative to the connector body 1 by the ring 4.
The male connector, in which the connector body 1 is normally equipped with the bolt 3 as described above, is fitted into a fitting hole 6 bored in a connector body 5 of a female connector. Then, a male screw portion 3b of the bolt 3 is screwed to a female screw portion 7a of a nut 7 fixed to the connector body 5. Finally, the connector body 1 and the connector body 5 are moved in the mating direction by turning the bolt 3 clockwise, and moved in the demating direction by turning the bolt 3 counterclockwise. It is noted that connecting terminals built in the male and female connectors are omitted in the drawings.
In the aforementioned connector body 1 to be mated by means of the bolt 3, rubber-make grommets are often used as a protective tube for wire harnesses. This type of grommet is fabricated in such a fashion that its cross-sectional shape will be maintained even under bends, and the grommet is more often used with one end portion coupled with the connector body 1.
For example, as shown in a partly cut-out plan view of FIG. 2, a grommet 8 has an unshown wire harness led thereto in a direction perpendicularly to the bolt 3, or a rearward direction of the drawing sheet. A fit portion 8a of the grommet 8 is fitted to the outer periphery of the connector body 1, and an engaging protrusion 1b of the connector body 1 is engaged with an engaging recess 8b of the grommet 8, whereby the grommet 8 and the connector body 1 are prevented from being demated from each other. Further, in some cases, the outer periphery of the fit portion 8a of the grommet 8 may be wound and tightened with a fastening device 9 such as tape or band, so that the grommet 8 and the connector body 1 can be prevented from being demated from each other with more reliability.
However, in the above-described prior art example as shown in FIG. 1, the bolt holder 2 is provided protrudingly and integrally at an end face of the connector body 1, and besides the bolt 3 is normally provided to the bolt holder 2 even prior to use of the bolt 3. This may make causes of some troubles that the wire harness is damaged by the head 3a of the bolt 3 during packaging, transferring, and other processes with the wire harness, that the work during the insertion of connecting terminals into the connector body 1 becomes difficult to automatize, and that the car body is flawed during the assembly of the wire harness.
Also, in the prior art example as shown in FIG. 2, it is troublesome work to wind and tighten the fit portion 8a of the grommet 8 at its outer periphery with the fastening device 9 for the purpose of preventing the grommet 8 and the connector body 1 from being demated from each other. Moreover, when the grommet 8 is successively bent or compressed, the fit portion 8a of the grommet 8 may be expanded wider by internal pressure of the grommet 8, such that the grommet 8 and the connector body 1 would be demated from each other.